The seriously mentally ill...if once Catholic, can they be saved?

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Mary_Gertrude_I

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I am hoping to hear from priests.
I have a beloved young friend, an adult catholic convert, who taught me alot about the faith theologically and morally (orthodoxy) in intellectual dialogues and debates, whose rationality on observing me and our culture was correct, whose friendship was a gift…
We encouraged each other to attend Mass and go to frequent confession among other things.
He came to my house from my parish as a person who came here to seek work.
He presented as a young man seeking to find work and alienated from his family.
I gave compassionate listening and interaction to support him to find work.
I also worked with his mother and learned alot about his family as well as what he sahred so much.
It became apparent he was delusional and had serious mental problems.
He is diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic.
Internally he is such a kind, gentle, damaged, frightened little boy.
He has been religious by nature since early age (Baptist) and was acutely brilliant and sensitive.
After attended Thomas Aquinas College, he became convinced by Thomism that the Catholic Faith was the true faith.
Ultimately, my husband had me send him off…and he became homeless…as I knew he would… but as I prayed back home with his family of origin. Non-catholics…and basically securlists. He seems to have lost any faith.
My question: Are the mentally ill lost to Salvation?
 
Dear friend,

It sounds like his mental illness has robbed him of his ability to think consistently in a rational way. If this is the case, then he is not culpable for his apparent lack of religiosity. While he was more able to be governed by reason, he WAS religious. God understands this. We will keep him in our prayers.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.
 
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